Yeah...so I didn't know what pictures to put in here...

Welcome Ladies and Gents to the first full mailing list entry in the “Cory-In-Japan” Mailing List.  I think, perhaps it is time for a little back-information, for the sake of completeness.

My name is Cory James Long.  I have been a student at Ball State University for two full years.  I am double-majoring in Secondary Education English and Secondary Education Japanese, with a minor in Digital Media.  I am Studying at Tokyo Gakugei University this year.  I thought it would be a good idea to start up this mailing list as a way to let family, friends, and anybody interested know

I fly to Tokyo in about a week.  I’m scheduled to fly out on American Airlines Flight 153 from O’Hare Airport to Narita Airport.  My plane leaves at 11:00 AM on October 3rd, and arrives in Japan at 2:15 PM on October 4th.  It is a 13 and a half hour flight.  A student, yet unknown to me, will pick me up at the airport and receive a nifty Ball State University mug.

The dormitory that I will be staying in is Hitotsubashi International Student Village in Kodaira City, Tokyo.  Tokyo Gakugei University, itself, is in Koganei City, Tokyo.  The commute, from what I hear, is about a fifteen minute bike ride.  Both of these are about half an hour, by train, to downtown Tokyo.

Upon arriving I will have about two weeks of orientation before classes start on October 17th.  I will likely be taking three Japanese classes (culture and language classes) and an English class (hopefully some kind of lit).  In preparation for the trip, I have acquired a (very nice) digital camera and a new laptop to replace my broken one.  Speaking of which, if anyone is interested in purchasing a 12 inch G4 Powerbook that needs to be hooked up to a monitor to function, let me know.

I spent last week in Muncie getting things ready down there.  (Read: Hanging out with my friends and goofing off)  I did get most of my paperwork filled out, however.  The Friday beforehand I got my Visa all settled out, and earlier that week I got my plane ticket.  Everything is going according to schedule, pretty much.

Right now, I’m mostly just packing and studying.  I’m trying to figure out how I can condense everything I need into two suitcases and a carry-on.  The only thing I need to figure out is how I’m going to take my suit and trenchcoat.  Other than that, it’ll be a cinch.  My mom and I leave for Northbrook on Saturday to spend the weekend with Gran and Gompie, before I head out on Monday.

I think I’m ready, but it just seems like there’s so much to do.

Thanks all,  I’m signing out
Cory